In the past, outdoors persons who hiked, climbed, fished or hunted as well as military personnel required protective coverings which would keep them dry and relatively warm under conditions wherein their activities would require weather protection of the upper body or, in the event of rain, maximum body protection in addition to providing a sleeping shelter. In the past, such protection required carrying a poncho-like garment which unfortunately had great bulk and was not easily worn over a backpack. To provide a sleeping shelter required the carrying of an additional piece of equipment which basically had to be joined to like a piece of equipment. Even this arrangement will not provide necessary protection because of the open ends of the so constructed shelter. Neither the poncho-like garment nor the shelter half could provide subsidiary uses such as a hammock or a single shelter. Neither article could provide a sleeping bag.
These disadvantages were overcome by the U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,362. For the first time there became available a single article which could be arranged in different modes to provide an anorak (short coat) covering the upper body and a backpack; a cagoule (long coat) protecting the legs in addition to the body while wearing a backpack; and an enclosed tent for a single occupant but being capable of being joined to a like article to provide a closed shelter for two persons; a summer shelter for a single person with a netted opening; a closed protection for seated person as well as a hammock. As great an improvement as the article disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,362 was, continued trials disclosed short comings while detracted from is universality. The sleeping accommodation modes required the presence of suitable vertical structure such as trees for the suspension of the end portions of the article. Additionally the multipurpose article of U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,362 was basically a rectangular sheet. Extensive experimental field trials disclosed that there was excessive material in both end portions which served no true purpose in the sleeping shelter and hammock uses. Furthermore, the ratio of width to length was restriction in the sleeping shelter mode as to provide a cocoon like environment which was uncomfortable to user. Also the width of the multipurpose garment of U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,362 was found to be somewhat restrictive in walking as well as in rainy weather directing the flow of water onto the legs and feet of the wearer.